I’ve Seen Both Sides of School Funding. The Difference Starts Early.

People often talk about educational inequity by looking at graduation rates, test scores, or college admissions. Those metrics matter, but they are the result of decisions that begin years earlier.

I know because I have experienced both sides.

I spent part of my childhood attending schools in Humboldt Park on the west side of Chicago and attending school in Lakeview. Even as a student, I could tell the difference.

The buildings were different. The resources were different. The opportunities felt different. Expectations were different. Some schools seemed to have everything they needed, while others were constantly trying to make do with less.

As a child, I did not understand why.

Now, after years in education as a teacher, instructional leader, and Pre-K coordinator, I do.

Where a child grows up often shapes the opportunities they receive in school. Communities with greater financial resources are often able to provide experiences and supports that other communities struggle to offer. The result is that children can begin their educational journey on very different footing before they have ever taken a test or stepped into an advanced course.

Today, I work with Pre-K classrooms across a large urban school district, and I see firsthand how important those early years are.

Children are building vocabulary, learning to communicate with others, developing confidence, and discovering what it feels like to succeed. They are not just learning letters and numbers. They are developing the foundation for everything that comes next.

When classrooms have strong materials, well-trained teachers, engaging learning experiences, and the support children need, the impact is incredible.

When those things are missing, children often begin kindergarten already carrying an unfair disadvantage.

That is why I believe we have to stop talking about achievement gaps as though they suddenly appear in third grade or middle school. They do not.

The differences start much earlier.

I have also seen incredible educators create magic with limited resources. Teachers stretch budgets, spend their own money, and pour everything they have into their students. But dedication should never be expected to compensate for systemic inequity.

We cannot keep asking educators to solve problems that require policy solutions.

Every child deserves access to a high-quality education, regardless of their ZIP code. Every family deserves confidence that their neighborhood school is equipped to help their child thrive. And every teacher deserves the resources necessary to do their job well.

When I think back on my own experience living in Humboldt Park and going to school in Lakeview, I do not just remember two different schools. I remember seeing how opportunity can vary from one neighborhood to the next.

That perspective has shaped the work I do today and the reason I care so deeply about early childhood education.

If we want to change long-term outcomes, we cannot wait until students are struggling. We have to invest in them from the very beginning.

The foundation we build in the earliest years matters. And every child deserves the chance to stand on solid ground.

-Jessica Adam, M.Ed